C. Tsantis

The City of Toronto charged Hard Luck Inc., a live music venue, with multiple by-law infractions relating to noise disturbances and operating an entertainment establishment without the necessary licence.

The court found the testimony of the primary complainant and the investigating by-law officer credible, establishing that the noise was likely to disturb a reasonable person and that the venue operated as a nightclub rather than an eating establishment.

The defendant failed to establish a due diligence defence for four of the five counts.

Hard Luck Inc. was found guilty on four counts, while one count of operating without a licence was dismissed because the defendant reasonably believed its eating establishment licence was sufficient at the time.

Hard Luck Inc., operating as a live music venue bar, was charged with five provincial offences under the City of Toronto Municipal Code: operating an entertainment establishment without a licence (counts 1 and 3), causing noise likely to disturb residents (counts 2 and 5), and permitting sound from electronic devices to project beyond the property (count 4).

The prosecution relied on testimony from a resident living approximately one city block away who documented extensive noise complaints over several months, and a provincial offences officer who observed and heard noise emanating from the premises.

The defendant presented evidence of soundproofing efforts and expert acoustic testing suggesting minimal noise projection.

The court found the defendant guilty on counts 1, 2, 4, and 5, but acquitted on count 3 based on a due diligence defence.

The court rejected the defendant's acoustic expert evidence as having little probative value given the temporal gap between testing and the alleged offences, and found the resident's testimony credible and compelling.